Cable spooling guide

ABSTRACT

A guide for paying out and feeding in a cable relative to a cable drum includes a pulley mounted on a ball for axial rotation and for limited pivotal movement on an axis disposed perpendicular to said axis of rotation, the ball being mounted on a shaft for reciprocative movement along the latter substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the cable drum, whereby the pulley guides the cable as the latter spools spirally relative to the axial direction of the frum.

United States Patent 1191 Williams 1 CABLE SPOOLING GUIDE [76] Inventor:Leonard H. Williams, PO. Box 233,

Umatilla, Oreg. 97838 [22] Filed: June 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 369,982

52 us. Cl. 242/157.1, 254/190 R [51 int. Cl B65h 57/28 [58] Field ofSearch ..242/157.1, 157, 15s;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,249,117 7/1941 Crandall242/l57.l X 2,387,245 10/1945 Davidson et al.'... 242/l57.l X 2,473,6286/l949 Allison 242/l57.1 X 2,595,534 5/1952 Jones 242/l57.l 3,122,3412/1964 Le Bus, Sr. et al. 242/l57.l 3,652,029 3/1972 Stewart 242/ 1 57.1

1451 Apr. 16, 1974 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,016,031 8/1952France 242/157. l 526,862 9/1940 Great Britain.... 242/l57.l

3/1961 Netherlands 242/157.]

Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Oliver 1).Olson [5 7 ABSTRACT A guide for paying out and feeding in a cablerelative to a cable drum includes a pulley mounted on a ball for axialrotation and for limited pivotal movement on an axis disposedperpendicular to said axis of rotation, the ball being mounted on ashaft for reciprocative movement along the latter substantially parallelto the axis of rotation of the cable drum, whereby the pulley guides thecable as the latter spools spirally relativeto the axial direction ofthe frum.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 s 1914 FIG. 3 FIGQZ CABLESPOOLING GUIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to theoperation of cable drums, and more particularly to novel means by whichto guide the paying out and feeding in ofa cable spirally relative to acable drum.

Cable spooling guides of the general class described have been providedheretofore. However, they are characterized by complex and costlyconstructions, by requiring extensive modification of standard equipmentfor incorporation therewith, by inability to deliver cable properly tothe extreme ends of the drum, and by causing excessive chafing of thecable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its basic concept, the cable spooling guideof this invention involves the mounting of a cable guide pulley on aball for axial rotation and for limited pivotal movement on an axissubstantially perpendicular to said rotation axis, and mounting the ballofa shaft for reciprocating movement along the latter substantiallyparallel to the rotation axisof a cable drum.

It is by virtue of the foregoing basic concept that the principalobjective of this invention is achieved; namely, to overcome theaforementioned disadvantages of prior cable spooling guides.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a cablespooling guide of the class described which is operable automatically,without operator assistance. to spool cable over the entire length of adrum with minimum chafing.

A further important object of this invention is the provision of acablespooling guide of the class described which is versatile in itsapplicability to a wide variety of types of cable drum equipment, withminimum modification of the latter.

Still another important object of this invention is the provision of acable spooling guide of the class described which is of simplifiedconstruction for economical manufacture.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention willappear from the following detailed description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing of a preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view ofaportion of well drilling apparatus showing associated therewith a cablespooling guide embodying the features'of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view in side elevation, as viewed from the rightin FIG. I. 7

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in FIG. I.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT For purposes merely ofillustration, FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing illustrate somewhatschematically a portion of well drillingapparatus with .which the cablespooling guide of this invention may be incorporated. The apparatusincludes a hollow box-like frame comprising laterally spaced framemembers 10, 12 and end frame member 14. A V-shaped spudding beam 16 issupported at its spaced ends pivotally. on the side frame members bypivot shafts 18, and is adjustable angularly by a strut 20. A spuddingsheave 22 is mounted rotatably at the apex of the spudding beam to guidea cable 24 extending downwardly from a derrick (not shown) to a poweredcable drum 26 supported between the side frame members for rotation onthe axis of the end shafts 28.

As is well known, the cable is wrapped spirally on the drum and is paidout therefrom and fed in thereto in spiral manner by powered rotation ofthe drum. The cable spooling guide of this invention functions toachieve such spooling automatically, without operator assistance, andwith minimum chafing and wear of the cable.

In accordance with this invention, a support shaft 30 is mounted at itsopposite ends on standards 32 projecting upward from the side framemembers, disposing the longitudinal axis of the shaft substantiallyparallel to the rotational axis of the drum. The shaft preferably issecured to the standards, by releasable clamps, keys, or other suitablemeans, to prevent its axial rotation.

A ball member 34 is provided with a diametric bore through which theshaft 30 is freely received, to allow reciprocative movement of the ballmember along the length of the shaft. In the preferredembodimentillustrated, the ball member is restrained from axial rotation relativeto the shaft, by means of an elongated key 36 on the shaft registeringwith a key-way in the ball member.

Means is provided for minimizing friction between the ball member andshaft, to maximize freedom of reciprocative movement of the ball memberalong the length of the shaft. In the embodiment illustrated, such meansis provided by a grease fitting 38 (FIG. 3) recessed within the ballmember and communicating through an opening with the diametric bore.

A cable guide pulley is mounted on the ball member for axial rotationrelative thereto and for limited pivotal movement on an axis disposedsubstantially perpendicular to said axis of rotation. In the embodimentillustrated, the pulley is formed of two lateral half sections 40 and 42secured together detachably by means of circumferentially spaced bolts44. When so joined together, the assembled pulley includes a widenedcentral hub 46 defining an axial bore of spherical zone shape and of aninternaldiameter substantially the same as the external diameter of theball membenThe widened hub thus provides sufficient surface forretaining the pulley on the ball member.

A grease fitting 48 is mounted in one section of the pulley forcommunication through an opening therein with the central bore in thepulley, to minimize friction between the pulley hub and ball member.

Means is provided for limiting said pivotal movement of the pulley on anaxis disposed perpendicular to the rotational axis of the pulley, In theembodiment illustrated, laterally spaced annular shoulders 50 areprovided on the ball member for abutment by the lateral sides of thepulley hub, whereby to define the limits of said pivotal movement. Itwill be observed from FIG. 3 of the drawing that the effective area ofthe ball member is a spherical zone defined between the spacedshoulders.

FIG. 1 illustrates in full lines the position of the cable guide pulleyadjacent the right encl of the shaft 30, as a consequence of the cable24 being spooled at the far right end of the drum 26. FIG. 1 illustratesin broken lines the central position of the pulley during spooling ofcable in the central portion of the drum. FIG. 3 illustrates in brokenlines the angular disposition of the pulley on the ball member when thepulley is moved to a position adjacent the left end of the shaft, duringspooling of the cable at the far end of the drum.

In operation, as the drum 26 is rotated to spool the cable spirallyalong its length, the guide pulley assembly is moved automatically alongthe length of the shaft 30, and the pulley rotates on its axis about theball member as the cable is paid out from or drawn in upon the drum.During spooling of the cable along the length of the drum, the pulleyalso pivots on a axis normal to its rotational axis automatically toaccommodate the changing angle between the stretches of cable extendingto opposite sides of the pulley. In this manner the cable is spooledrelative to the drum with maximum precision, minimum chafing and wear ofthe cable, and without operator attendance.

As explained hereinbefore, it is preferred that the shaft 30 be securedagainst rotation relative to the frame and that the ball member 34 alsobe secured against rotation relative to the shaft. However, byminimizing the friction between the ball member and shaft and betweenthe pulley and ball member, as afforded by the grease fittings 38 and48, the shaft may be mounted for rotation relative to the frame and theball member may be mounted on the shaft for rotation relative thereto,since the pulley will thus pivot freely on the ball member to assume itsproper angular position relative to the cable, while still rotatingfreely with the longitudinal movement of the cable.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the present inventionprovides a cable spooling guide of simplified construction foreconomical manufacture, which is readily adaptable for incorporationwith standard cable drum apparatus of various types and sizes, whichoperates automatically, without operator assistance, to facilitate thespooling of cable with precision and with minimum chafing and wear.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the size, shape, type, number and arrangement of partsdescribed hereinbefore without departing from the spirit of thisinvention.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which it may beused, I claim:

1. A cable guide for spooling cable relative to a rotary cable drum.comprising:

a. a shaft adapted to be positioned substantially parallel to therotational axis of a cable drum,

b. a ball member having a bore therethrough slidably receiving saidshaft for mounting the ball thereon for reciprocative movement, and

c. a cable pulley mounted on the ball for axial rotation and for limitedpivotal movement on an axis disposed perpendicular to the axis ofrotation of the pulley.

2. The cable guide of claim 1 including stop members on the ball memberengageable by the pulley to limit the pivotal movement of the latter.

3. The cable guide of claim 1 wherein the ball member comprises aspherical zone and the cable pulley has an axial bore of spherical zoneshape and of a diameter substantially the same as the external diameterof the ball member. I

4. The cable guide of claim I wherein the shaft and ball member aresecured against rotation.

5. The cable guide of claim 1 wherein the cable pulley comprises a pairof half sections secured together detachably for removable mounting onthe ball member.

6. The cable guide of claim 1 wherein the cable pulley comprises a pairof half sections secured together detachably for removable mounting onthe ball member, the ball member comprises a spherical zone and thecable pulley has an axial bore of spherical zone shape and of a diametersubstantially the same as the external diameter of the ballfi'nember,and stop members on the ball member are engageable by the pulley tolimit the pivotal movement of the latter.

1. A cable guide for spooling cable relative to a rotary cable drum,comprising: a. a shaft adapted to be positioned substantially parallelto the rotational axis of a cable drum, b. a ball member having a boretherethrough slidably receiving said shaft for mounting the ball thereonfor reciprocative movement, and c. a cable pulley mounted on the ballfor axial rotation and for limited pivotal movement on an axis disposedperpendicular to the axis of rotation of the pulley.
 2. The cable guideof claim 1 including stop members on the ball member engageable by thepulley to limit the pivotal movement of the latter.
 3. The cable guideof claim 1 wherein the ball member comprises a spherical zone and thecable pulley has an axial bore of spherical zone shape and of a diametersubstantially the same as the external diameter of the ball member. 4.The cable guide of claim 1 wherein the shaft and ball member are securedagainst rotation.
 5. The cable guide of claim 1 wherein the cable pulleycomprises a pair of half sections secured together detachably forremovable mounting on the ball member.
 6. The cable guide of claim 1wherein the cable pulley comprises a pair of half sections securedtogether detachably for removable mounting on the ball member, the ballmember comprises a spherical zone and the cable pulley has an axial boreof spherical zone shape and of a diameter substantially the same as theexternal diameter of the ball member, and stop members on the ballmember are engageable by the pulley to limit the pivotal movement of thelatter.